Life is already complicated!

                                              

            Life is already complicated without any medical condition.  Think about what you have dealt with in your entire life, before you were given the diagnosis.  For me its been a lot.  
            This year I turned 33 years old and it was 3 months before my birthday that I found out about my condition.  I will not bore you with the details of the life that came previously but I can tell you, like everyone else, I had good years and bad ones.  I had extreme highs and extreme lows.  And without question a few very very rock bottom moments.  
            But there is a catch.  
            I am still here.  No matter what I dealt with before I made it through.  Life was complicated.  Like a million piece puzzle that you have lost some pieces for.  Its frustrating, annoying, sad, happy, exciting and its yours.  There is no set time frame for the puzzle to be completed so theirs no rush, but we do anyway.  
           If this condition has taught me anything its that we need to slow down.  We need to take time out of our complicated lives and look after our health.  Sometimes, like with me and this illness, we have no choice.  We are forced to stop and reevaluate our lives, eating habits etc.  
           Sure, this condition is serious but you know for me it came as a blessing in disguise.  I never would have stopped.  I know I would not have.  My life was complicated in many ways, yet this condition did not make it worse.  In fact I sometimes thank my condition for allowing me to take the time I needed to focus on the bigger picture and enjoy the life I have.  
           This condition does not stop our lives from being complicated.  And I admit some days it does feel like its adding more pieces to the puzzle rather than taking them away, but you know what that does not mean we have to fall into the trap of blaming our condition for not doing things. 
           We can not use it as an excuse for things.   Realistically there will be days where it is a real reason and not an excuse but you have to be honest with yourself and others.  
           Is this really a day where I can and just do not want too?
           Is my pain really strong enough to hold me back from my goal today?
           Have I tried everything I can, to do want I have to do today?
           Do I control the condition today or does it control me?
           Honestly there have been days for me where the pain has been there, yet low enough on the pain scale that I was still able to get at least my minimal amount of things done that I wanted to do.  And there have been other days that I know I just need to rest.  
           I refuse to let my symptoms dictate to me what I can and can not do.  And even though some days I have no choice, on days when I do I will not go quietly.  I will fight with every ounce of my being to reach my goals and do what I need and want to do.  
           Everyone has a different puzzle and it is up to us to find the right way to put it together, however we are all in the same room and reaching out for help is nothing to be ashamed of.  If you need help of any kind reach out for it.  
           We are all in this together. 

           #AlwaysKeepFighting

          Alison 

Emergency Preparedness and IC!

Are you prepared?

      I consider myself to be pretty prepared for any type of emergency that can arise.  And by emergency I am talking about floods, fire, storms and earthquakes.  Now I am not saying that all my preparing is perfect and that I still do not have things to work out but I feel very confident in what I have got done already.  That being said I realized something in the passed month. 

      What happens when the emergency arrives and you have a condition, like IC?  Or any condition for that matter? 

       As part of my preparedness canned goods and food storage are a big part of it, yet I realized with my condition most of it I will not be able to eat if there was something going on.  

       I was in shock and honesty a little angry.  

       I had gone to all the trouble of making sure I was prepared only to realize that I had not included my condition in my planning.  This will undoubtedly make the preparing harder, yet I am willing to research and see what I can do to help myself as well as my family.  

      Here are a few steps I have taken already to resolve the situation: 

• I buy a package of Uricalm, a medicine to help with the symptoms, at least once or twice a month.  This ensures I have a good supply on hand at all times so if a situation does come up I have at least some relief from eating questionable foods. 
• As I find food I can eat, food lists are created so that I can keep track.  This enables me to purchase dehydrated items/food storage that I will be able to consume with my family in an emergency situation. 
• Water is a huge staple when it comes to food storage/preparedness and I have to admit so far this is where my stock fails.  As part of my new planning strategy I am hoping to have a good supply available to us at all times.  Right now I drink around 90 oz of water per day and if you include what the family drinks the amount can rack up very quickly.  In an emergency I would not be able to drink as much due to rationing but still the amount we would need is crazy if you do not stock up.  

         These are just a few ways I have found to prepare while having a condition.  Now I am lucky in the fact that the medicine that works for me on flare ups is something I do not need a prescription for.  For those of you that need a prescription it will be harder in an emergency situation.  Yet there is always something you can do.  

          I believe that situations are made hard so that we can come out the other side stronger than ever before and I know having the knowledge/planning ahead will help us a lot if something should happen.  

          Now I know that people read about being prepared and think I am not going out and buying tons of flour, sugar and other things it will cost a fortune.  That is true but only if you do it all at once.  The stock of canned goods and food storage I have has been slowly gathered over the course of years and honestly I started by simply adding one can extra each time we would do a grocery run.  Say you need 2 cans of Carrots, or whatever your family likes, instead of buying just the 2 you get 3.  You will be amazed how fast your collection grows.  

          No matter what situation may hit our area/you or your family it is always good to have a plan in place.  It is never too late to start the planning process. 

          

          #AlwaysKeepFighting

       Alison  :)